MANILA, April 9-- Malaysian kidnap victim Jari Bin Abdullah, who was rescued from the Abu Sayyaf kidnappers in a volley of gunfire five days ago, passed away on Tuesday in the southern Philippines, the Philippine military said on Tuesday. The military said in a statement that Abdullah was surrounded by some members of his family and Malaysian Embassy staff when he died at 1:17 p.m. local time on Tuesday at a local hospital in Zamboanga City. Abdullah was shot in the back while trying to escape when Philippine Marines were attempting to rescue him. The military said Abu Sayyaf militants abducted Abdullah and two other Indonesian hostages off Sabah, Malaysia on December 6 last year and brought them to the remote jungles of Sulu province in the southern Philippines. "We extend our heartfelt sympathy to the families of Abdullah," Lieutenant General Arnel Dela Vega, the Philippine Western Mindanao Command chief, said, adding Philippine troops "are exhausting all efforts to defeat the Abu Sayyaf and bring justice to the victims of terror." Meanwhile, the Philippine military said the rescued Indonesian kidnap victim Heri Ardiansyah, who was plucked from the waters by marines aboard a gunboat, was formally turned over to the Indonesian Embassy in Manila on Tuesday. The body of another Indonesian kidnap victim Hariadin, who had drowned while trying to escape his captors, was also brought to Manila Monday night, the military said. |